Storm Masters: Fan Controller Panels Roundup. Page 4

We are going to talk about the features and functionality of nine fan controllers from three different makers: Lamptron, NZXT and Scythe. Which one of them will be the most convenient, functional and inexpensive?

Sentry 2

The controller comes with thermal sensor cables, two strips of scotch tape, an installation guide and a plastic cable strap.

The 5.25-inch faceplate is made of plastic. Most of it is occupied by a color display.

There is a bunch of cables tailing from the back of the controller, a 700mm PATA power cable among them.

The thermal sensor cables are 620 millimeters long. The fan cables are 680 millimeters long. All of them are of the 2-pin variety, so there is no speed monitoring here.

The NZXT Sentry 2 has five fan regulation channels and as many temperature sensors. The maximum load on each channel is 10 watts, which is only one third of the max load per channel of the Lamptron controllers discussed above. On the other hand, this should be quite enough for any PC fan.

When controlled with the NZXT Sentry 2, the bottom limit is 40% of the fan’s maximum speed. The temperature sensors have an operating range of 0 to 120 degrees Celsius (the controller supports the Fahrenheit scale, too).

The display shows information about the selected fan, its speed (in percent of the maximum speed) and temperature (according to the respective sensor).

There are two regulation modes: manual and automatic. The manual mode is self-explanatory whereas the automatic one means that the controller regulates the connected fans basing on a specific thermal sensor, yet the bottom speed limit is still set at 40%. Thus, my fans could not be made to work slower than 1100 RPM, which was too noisy. Besides, this controller reacted with a 1 or 2-second delay to my actions.

All in all, the Sentry 2 seems to be sort of unfinished but its recommended price is rather low, especially compared to the Lamptron controllers, at only $21.99.